Health data is another example where association analysis can be
effectively employed. Suppose a patient is obtaining a series of
pathology and diagnostic imaging tests as part of an investigation to
determine the cause of some symptoms. The ``shopping basket'' here is
the collection of tests performed. Are there items in the basket that
don't belong together? Or are there some patients who don't seem to
be getting the appropriate selection of tests? The Australian Health
Insurance Commission discovered an
unexpected correlation between two pathology tests performed by
pathology laboratories and paid for by insurance
(, ). It turned out that only one
of the tests was actually necessary, yet regularly both were being
performed. The insurance organisation was able to reduce over-payment
by disallowing payment for both tests, resulting in a saving of some
half a million dollars per year.

In a very different application, IBM's Advance Scout was developed to identify different
strategies employed by basketball players in the US NBA. Discoveries
include the observation that Scottie Pippen's favorite move on
the left block is a right-handed hook to the middle. And
when guard Ron Harper penetrates the lane, he shoots the ball
83% of the time. Also it was noticed that 17% of Michael
Jordan's offence comes on isolation plays, during which he tends to
take two or three dribbles before pulling up for a jumper
(, ).

There are many more examples of unexpected associations having been
discovered between items and, importantly, found to be particularly
useful for improving business (and other) processes.